Microstructures and Pyroelectric Properties of Multicomposition 0.9PbZrO₃·xPbTiO₃·(0.1−x)Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ Ceramics

Abstract

The microstructures and pyroelectric properties of multicomposition 0.9PbZrO3·xPbTiO3·(0.1−x)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZ–PT–PZN) ceramics were investigated. The PZ–PT–PZN ceramics with nearly theoretical density were prepared by spark plasma sintering at low temperature (800°C) for a very short time (10 min) from two original compositions with x= 0.025 and x= 0.050. The heat treatment was successfully used to control the diffusion between the different compositions in such ceramics. For ceramics heat‐treated at 900°C, two pyroelectric peaks corresponding to the original compositions were observed. When the heat‐treatment temperature was increased to 1200°C, these two pyroelectric peaks combined into one sharp pyroelectric peak, which corresponds to average composition. When the spark‐plasma‐sintered ceramics were heat‐treated at 950°C, a high and stable pyroelectric coefficient (>100 nC·cm−2·K−1) over a wide temperature range (23°–47°C) was obtained. It was found that the pyroelectric properties strongly depended on the microstructures.

Spark Plasma Sintering as a Useful Technique to the Nanostructuration of Piezo‐Ferroelectric Materials

“…When a mixture of calcined materials, having different compositions of this system, was sintered by SPS, the compositional distribution in the starting mixture was almost maintained and such material exhibited a high pyroelectric coefficient, strongly related to the microstructure, over a wide temperature range. [134,135] Moreover, SPS has been also used as a new method of preparing transparent xPb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -yPbZrO 3 -(1 À x À y)PbTiO 3 ceramics that could be promising candidates for applications in areas such as electro-optics and pyro-optics. [136] A result of great importance to be highlighted is the successful use of the combination of mechanosynthesis and SPS for the preparation of nanostructured 0.92PbZn 1/3 -Nb 2/3 O 3 -0.08PbTiO 3 ceramics.…”

Dense YMn2O5 Ceramics Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

“…On the other hand, spark plasma sintering (SPS) has been used widely as a low temperature and rapid sintering method in the past decade 8–10 . SPS is a process that uses microscopic electric discharge between particles under pressure.…”

“…On the other hand, spark plasma sintering (SPS) has been used widely as a low temperature and rapid sintering method in the past decade. [8][9][10] SPS is a process that uses microscopic electric discharge between particles under pressure. Ceramics can be sintered to high densities by SPS at relatively low temperatures (several hundreds of degrees Celsius lower than that of conventional sintering) for very short times (typically a few minutes).…”

Effects of La2O3 Addition and PbO Excess on the Transmittance of PbZrO3–PbTiO3–Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 Ceramics by Spark Plasma Sintering

“…L ead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr x Ti 1− x )O 3 , generally known as PZT), a solid solution of perovskite ferroelectric PbTiO 3 and antiferroelectric PbZrO 3 in different Zr/Ti ratios, has been widely used in piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric devices such as transducers, pyroelectric sensors, and ferroelectric random access memory 1–7 . Many investigations have reported the development of high‐performance piezoelectric and/or pyroelectric materials in a PbZrO 3 –PbTiO 3 –Pb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 system (PZ–PT–PZN) 8–10 . However, few papers about the optical properties of PZ–PT–PZN ceramics were reported because the ceramics prepared by the conventional sintering method were not transparent or showed a very low transmittance.…”